Chattanooga beats The Citadel 27-8
Team pages: Chattanooga · The Citadel
Chattanooga beat The Citadel 27-8. Share this game
We had Chattanooga favored. It won.
Next: Chattanooga lost to East Tennessee State 14-3, Sat Oct 3
Next: The Citadel beat South Carolina State 34-31, Sat Oct 3
How it swung
The turning point: Lalin 12-yd TD run, Chattanooga leads 13-0 (Q3, 3:01). Chattanooga went from 80% to 95% to win.
Before kickoff, our ratings gave Chattanooga a 64% chance, and the closing betting line (Chattanooga was a 10.5-point favorite) put it at 80%.
Favored the whole way: Chattanooga never fell below 67%.
The Citadel never had better than a 32% chance.
Chattanooga 27-8 The Citadel
Chattanooga wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.The Citadel 8-27 ChattanoogaThe Citadel lostMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.The two plays that swung it
- 1Q3 10:114th and 3Hayes pass to Webb for a loss of 3, turnover on downsChattanooga 77% → 87% (+10)
- 2Q3 3:01Lalin 12-yd TD run, Chattanooga leads 13-0Chattanooga 80% → 95% (+15)
The two plays that swung it
- 1Q3 10:114th and 3Hayes pass to Webb for a loss of 3, turnover on downsThe Citadel 23% → 13% (−10)
- 2Q3 3:01Lalin 12-yd TD run, Chattanooga leads 13-0The Citadel 20% → 5% (−15)
How to read this chart
Starts from the pregame line (Chattanooga -10.5), at 70% for Chattanooga (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores. Outlined diamonds mark rare plays.Every drive
Chattanooga scored on 3 of its 11 drives; The Citadel on 1 of its 11.
Chattanooga’s drives are teal, The Citadel’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.
Box score
Chattanooga 27, The Citadel 8
Chattanooga covered −10.5 by 8.5. The total, 35, stayed under 46.5.
Chattanooga leaders
- Passing Battle Alberson 8 of 12, 74 yds
- Rushing Journey Wyche 11 for 93 yds; Kevin Lalin 14 for 79 yds, 2 TD
- Receiving Landon Strickland 2 for 44 yds; Erik Bussmann 2 for 10 yds
The Citadel leaders
- Passing Nick Billoups 11 of 15, 61 yds
- Rushing Gavin Garcia 15 for 60 yds; Nick Billoups 9 for 58 yds
- Receiving Braylon Knauth 2 for 16 yds; Derek Kee 1 for 15 yds
Before kickoff
Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.
Recent games
Last 4 games
Chattanooga · 2-2
Rated 193rd in our preseason ratings, 173rd now, up 20 spots.
2-2 in its last 4 — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.
W 41-7 vs Wofford #209 of 668
won by 34 as a 1.5-point favorite
L 17-22 @ Eastern Kentucky #168 of 668
lost by 5 as a 3-point favorite
L 9-24 vs Tennessee Tech #116 of 668
lost by 15 as a 10.5-point underdog
W 24-10 @ West Georgia #212 of 668
won by 14 as a 3.5-point favorite
Last three games
The Citadel · 1-2
Rated 203rd in our preseason ratings, 211th now.
1-2 in its last three, including a 2-point win over Charlotte as a 20.5-point underdog.
W 43-41 @ Charlotte #179 of 668
won by 2 as a 20.5-point underdog
Week by week
The Citadel
- Wk 1Lat Wofford14-42
- Wk 1Wat Charlotte43-41
- Wk 2Lvs Charleston Southern20-26
Chattanooga
- Wk 1Wat West Georgia24-10
- Wk 1Lvs Tennessee Tech9-24
- Wk 2Lat Eastern Kentucky17-22
- Wk 3Wvs Wofford41-7
Power rating by week
Chattanooga is rated 1.7 points ahead as of week 3. Our power rating by week; higher is better.
The series
Chattanooga leads the series 21-14-1
36 meetings since 1926 · The Citadel won the last meeting
- 2025The Citadel 28-10
- 2024Chattanooga 31-7
- 2023Chattanooga 48-3
- 2022Chattanooga 31-21
- 2021The Citadel 24-21
Line, fans and home field
The betting line, and the fans
Our model and the betting line don’t fully agree on The Citadel’s chances here.
Chattanooga favored by 10.5 · Total 46.5
How games like this usually go
Chattanooga by 10.5, and it went to form
Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game
The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 385 games since 2025 with a favorite of 7.5 to 14.5 points.
The market
The spread moved 1 point toward The Citadel.
The total fell 1 point.
Spread: +11.5 → +10.5 · Total: 47.5 → 46.5
The books’ cut: 5.3%, the margin built into the odds
Home field
The Citadel has been 4.4 points worse at home than on the road since 2018 — worse at home, 0th percentile.
0% at home, 17% on the road against FBS opponents (0-1 home, 2-10 away).
Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads -9.6 at home vs. away over 50 games — outside the ±7.8 noise, one of the few buildings where results say more.
The visitors travel about 344 miles to get here.
Where next
Conference standings
Place in the conference, then conference record.
- The Citadel9th0-1
- Chattanooga3rd1-1